Editorial: Tossing a prayer at our schools

Hand it to Sen. Dennis Kruse. The man from Auburn knows what he likes when it comes to a throwback education. Too bad that what he likes so often is unconstitutional.

The man who brought you a bill that would have allowed districts to add creationism to the science curriculum - and has promised another anti-evolution bill for the 2013 - offered this appetizer in the bigger church-and-state buffet.

He has filed a bill for the upcoming session that would allow school districts to require a recitation of the Lord's Prayer, a cornerstone of the Christian faith, during the school day. The bill, of course, comes with a provision that would let kids opt out, with parental permission.

Just as his creationism bill was deemed - on its face and in some big-time court rulings - unconstitutional before being watered down into something meaningless last year, the Lord's Prayer bill has been shuffled into a dark hole. Senate President Pro Tempore David Long, R-Fort Wayne, escorted Kruse's bill to the Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, a spot, according to The Indianapolis Star, considered a "burial ground for bills."

The attempt by Kruse, the chairman of the Senate's Education Committee, to wedge faith-based flavor into the public school day is barely worth working up a good sweat over. His colleagues - at least the ones leading the show - seem to get it that his bill is unconstitutional.

Here's a guess on the eve of this General Assembly session, as bills continue to be filed, parsed and promoted: Lawmakers are going to get hit up to support all sorts of notions that test the church-and-state waters.

They should do their best to calmly and swiftly marginalize what they can so the legislature can concentrate on what's most important. According to the 2012 campaigns, that means jobs, the economy and Indiana's financial stability.

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Editorial: Tossing a prayer at our schools

Hand it to Sen. Dennis Kruse. The man from Auburn knows what he likes when it comes to a throwback education. Too bad that what he likes so often is unconstitutional.